First Take Sour Candies

These tasty, mood-boosting sour treats have continued to be a favorite for candy lovers. Companies within the category have become leaders by innovating and perfecting sour candies to give consumers various candy options such as original sour candies in fun and creative packaging and forms.

Candy Dynamics has plans to expand its product offerings for the new year. The company has been able to drive growth to the category through innovation and keeping up with trends. “We at Candy Dynamics look forward to another exciting year in 2023 with even more business achieved as we continue to increase distribution and see more of our items included in retail sets throughout the country,” said a Candy Dynamics spokesperson. “As sales continue to grow, we will continue to expand our product listings to more retail chains across the nation.” fresh ideas for new product development, merchandising and marketing and advertising opportunities. We welcome all thoughts and, as one would expect with a candy company, we enjoy the time spent brainstorming new ideas

“Consumer preferences are still leaning away from overwhelmingly sweet candy to other flavor profiles. And then sour is definitely one of those profiles. You also see savory candies benefiting from that, although savory doesn’t have as much of a broad acceptance as sour.”

— Paul Henderson, Impact Confections

together. Many of our most popular candies available in the market today have come as a result of these huddle meetings. The Candy Dynamics team loves the time when we can come together and share in these meetings.” away from overwhelmingly sweet candy to other flavor profiles,” Paul Henderson, Sales and Marketing Director of Impact Confections said. “And then sour is definitely one of those profiles. You also see savory candies benefiting from that, although savory doesn’t have as much of a broad acceptance as sour. The general category is challenged by supply chain disruptions. There is simply still not enough candy in the market for the customers—customers are competing for candy almost.”

Candy Dynamics has shown its excitement for its two newest items to roll out to retail in the coming year. “The Slime Licker Squeeze and Slime Writer are very interactive and provide our customers with a fun approach to eating their favorite sour treats,” the spokesperson added. “As platforms like TikTok and YouTube continue to grow in popularity, the visible interactivity of a product has become increasingly important. Having garnered nearly 275 million views on TikTok, this became evident with the success of our Slime Lickers.”

Candy Dynamics has proven there is truth rooted in the adage “two heads are better than one.” The supplier takes a collaborative approach when brainstorming innovation. In fact, some of the company’s most in demand products on retailers’ shelves and in shopping baskets came about as a result of the Candy Dynamics team working together. “We love meeting as a company throughout the year for our huddle meetings to hear ideas from all of our employees,” said the spokesperson. “We encourage all to be creative and provide

Candy Dynamics is cautiously optimistic the sour candies category will see improvements regarding the supply chain issues that snarled manufacturers’ best laid plans and delivery times in recent years. “The supply chain was still experiencing hurdles through the start of 2022 as companies battled with shortages of packaging and/or raw ingredients for manufacturing," said the spokesperson. "As 2022 progressed, the supply chain as a whole began to improve; however, there are still shortcomings. We believe we will continue to see improvements in the supply chain as we move into 2023.”

“We find the omnichannel approach to shopping has only helped build sales for our brand," the spokesperson continued. "It has provided further exposure to our brand as more touchpoints are established with our customers. With more retailers carrying our range of products, we have been provided with more opportunities than ever before for product trial. As our brand becomes more prevalent in the market, our products have become destination items, increasing sales for our company and the retailer as a result.”

Impact Confections mentioned the company has been looking at including various flavor profiles outside of the tried-and-true sweet and sour taste. “Consumer preferences are still leaning

Impact Confections is focusing on its long game: laying the groundwork in preparation of next year’s holiday season. “We are working on Christmas 2023,” Henderson said. “We are working a full year out in the day-to-day grind, but the flip side of it is we are working on long-term supply chain. We have come to the conclusion that over the mid-term, potentially long-term, supply chain is going to be as much of a competitive advantage as brand. The brand is a promise and then delivering on that promise is key."

Adrienne Whittemore with Warehouse Candy acknowledged the several growth driving factors within the category. “While sour tastes are not exclusive to a younger palate, generally this segment tends to skew towards Gen Z purchasers," Whittemore said. "As the strength of the Gen Z dollars has continued to grow, so has the sour segment. At Tops Markets, we consistently review the candy category on a near-weekly basis to ensure that our product mix is filling the needs of our consumers and we are always in close communication with our vendor partners to stay on top of category trends. The most impactful shift in the candy category has been the explosive expansion in demand. We continue to see massive growth in the category that spiked wildly when the pandemic hit and never returned to pre-pandemic levels. As such, supply constraints have been a real issue for the industry in both non-seasonal and seasonal candy."